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CESAU PRESENTS: MITCHELL DEAN

Mitchell Dean, professor of sociology at the University of Newcastle, visits Aarhus University May 9^th and gives the lecture: ”Civil Society and the genealogy of the social”. In his production Mitchel Dean has primarily worked with political and historical sociology, social and political thinking, and the governmental technologies of liberal democracies. In his lecture Dean will explain Michel Foucaults notion of governmentality, followed by a discussion of the meaning and necessity of the social in liberal democracies.

• Read more about the lecture here.

A LOOK INSIDE THE RESEARCH GROUP ”CULTURE AND SOCIETY”

”When it comes to culture and society, the field of sociology deals with interpersonal constitution of meaning and interpersonal relations, that is, social interaction and the meanings we associate with it. In the research group we let the interests and the needs of its members be the casting vote.”

The above is an excerpt from the article: ”A look inside the research group Culture and Society”, which presents the work of the group. In the coming period we will introduce the different research groups associated with CESAU, thereby making it possible to get a more detailed picture of, and be inspired by, what is going on in the different environments.

• Read the first contribution to the series on the research groups, ”Culture and society”, here.

NEW FACES IN CESAU

As new assistant head of the department CESAU has affiliated Mads P. Sørensen from Danish Centre for Studies in Research and Research Policy. Among other things Mads P. Sørensen is known for his work on German sociologist Ulrich Beck. Mads' work in CESAU will include the development of Ph.D. courses. CESAU has also affiliated professor in Sport Science at Aarhus University, Verner Møller, with the purpose of developing a strategy for integrating research projects in the centre. Finally CESAU has hired five new assisting students: Kristine Frahm, Nanna Mia Jørgensen and Johanne Rørdam Svane will take care of PR and communication assignments, Benjamin Dalton is hired to handle translations into english of CESAU's informational material, and Sidsel Kernild is in job training at CESAU and Department of Philosophy and History of Ideas over the next three months.

FAREWELL TO ASSISTANT HEAD OF CESAU STINE THIEDEMANN FABER

At April 15^th CESAU bids Stine Thiedmann Faber farewell, as she has been hired as professor of social scientifical gender research at the Department of Culture and Global Studies at Aalborg University. Stine Thiedemann Faber has been part of CESAU as the assistant head of the department pretty much since the beginning and was responsible, among other things, for the mapping of sociology at Aarhus University, which is to be published soon. To mark her resignation, CESAU has interviewed Stine on her time with CESAU and the competencies she will carry with her to her future job.

• Read the interview here.

”INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGICAL METHODS” - STILL PLACES AVAILABLE

There are still places available for the Ph.D. course on ”interviews” and ”field studies”. The two courses each last two days with the objective of giving a wide introduction to the aforementioned methods and techniques. Each course earns you 2 ECTS.

• Read more about the courses here.

OPPORTUNITY FOR FREE PARTICIPATION AT NORDIC SOCIOLOGICAL CONGRESS

Nordic Sociological Association offers graduate students and recently graduated Masters free admission and stay at the Nordic Sociological Congress in Oslo, August 4^th – 7^th. You will have to pay for the journey yourself. And you will have to send an abstract to Gorm Harste, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, who, along with the board of the Sociological Association, will nominate six participants from Denmark. You can, for instance, use a section of your dissertation, or a summary of the point of interest of your work, as a paper. Masters (graduated between August 2010 and summer 2011) are asked to inform the grade given for their dissertation. The dissertation must have a clear sociological relevance for it to be eligible. A short abstract of max. 15 lines must be submitted no later than April 8^th to gha@ps.au.dk.

• Get further information here.

NEWS FROM THE CESAU BLOG: MATERIALITY AND FIREBALLS

This month there are two new contributions on the blog, both from the work in CESAU's sociological research group on environment. Lars Kjærulf Pedersen is responsible for the first contribution, named ”Materiality and praxis in urban green structures”. The post seeks to explain how it is impossible to understand the social and the societal without understanding how materiality – as well the artefacts of nature as the artefacts of technology – is interconnected with sociality. The second contribution, ”Fireballs”, by Jeppe Læssøe, examines what it will take to commit people to sustainable development in terms of action, with emphasis on the role of fireballs. Both contributions are invitations to discussion, and comments by their readers are most welcome.

• The contributions can be read on the CESAU blog.

CALENDAR